Looking down at the trial card in her hands, Hysteria felt as if her brain had completely stopped working.
For a brief second, she'd even absurdly wondered if Linen had suddenly become a girl.
But no—of course not. That bastard just wanted to publicly humiliate her!
"Hey, you get back here! I don't want to swap anymore!"
Realizing she'd been tricked, Hysteria rushed to chase after Linen. But the moment the thought of refusing the trade entered her mind, Linen quickened his pace without warning, swiftly disappearing into the trial waiting area. It was too late now.
At the same moment, the carriage that had just departed mysteriously stopped again. Its curtain lifted slightly, revealing a pair of beautiful azure eyes, thoughtfully fixed on Linen's back.
"Damn it!"
Hysteria had completely given up hope.
The great Princess Hysteria had always considered herself a calm, wise, and composed young lady. But whenever she was in front of Linen, it was as if he could read her every thought—sometimes making her feel utterly exposed, as if she wasn't wearing clothes at all.
"It's probably because you're too easy to read, Hysteria," Elena whispered from beside her.
Hysteria immediately opened her mouth to retort, but suddenly noticed something off:
"Wait, even you know what I'm thinking now? Did you guys secretly cast some kind of mind-reading Arcana on me?"
Faced with this accusation, Elena awkwardly scratched her cheek.
Truthfully, understanding Hysteria's thoughts wasn't too hard—as long as you looked at her face first, since the princess practically wrote her every thought there. Linen, though, had anticipated her reaction perfectly without even turning back to look at her.
Is this…what they call being on the same wavelength?
Staring at his retreating figure, Elena couldn't help feeling a little envious.
Suddenly, a small, puffed-up face popped up from below, completely blocking Elena's view.
"I can't do it! This trial is absolutely impossible for me! Help me out, Elena!" Hysteria begged tearfully, clutching Elena's shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Hysteria. Honestly, I'd really love to help." Elena hastily looked away from Hysteria's tearful eyes.
Though her words sounded like a polite brush-off, Elena genuinely meant them. If she had her way, she would've happily taken on Hysteria's embarrassing trial instead.
Sadly, reality just wasn't that kind.
"But the thing is, I've already finished my own trial."
"You're done already? How are you finished so quickly?" Hysteria was stunned.
To save time, they'd each lined up at different teachers' counters, receiving their trial cards almost simultaneously before regrouping. Yet Hysteria had barely looked at her own card before Elena declared she'd completed hers.
"Well, I guess I was just lucky enough to get a rather special trial." Seeing Hysteria's disbelief, Elena handed over her card.
At that moment, the pattern on the card glowed softly, indicating successful activation and trial completion.
Hysteria glanced down at it and sharply drew in her breath:
"An Arcana Artifact Reward Card? Your luck is outrageous!"
Her startled cry drew countless jealous gazes from nearby students.
The reason why this year's Spring Cup registration was more explosive than ever was because Headmaster Sorgana had hidden valuable prizes—normally reserved for the main competition—in the selection round.
For instance, if your trial was peeking at the underwear of the Golden Court's 300-pound academic director, you might win a magically elastic pair of lace panties that could comfortably fit even someone weighing 300 pounds—truly a rare treasure.
Yet Elena's luck had reached a new pinnacle. She didn't even have to perform a task; she'd directly drawn an Arcana Artifact Reward Card.
Even the lowest-tier single-use Arcana artifacts were considered incredibly precious magical tools among students—let alone with Headmaster Sorgana's famously generous style, she'd never use disposable junk to fool students.
If an Arcana Artifact could be directly obtained from the draw, then the rumor of an ultimate prize hidden in the selection round might be true as well!
In an instant, many students made the connection, and the already packed registration hall grew even more crowded.
"I need to register now! Move it!"
"You're the ones who should move—I have a dying ex-girlfriend whose last wish is to see me join the Spring Cup. How could you refuse her?"
"Hehehe~!"
In the observation room, Headmaster Sorgana's crystal ball emitted a self-satisfied laugh.
"What a lucky little girl, actually drawing the only artifact reward card I placed in the entire selection round."
"The only one?" Gust turned his head slightly. "Wasn't this round supposed to be entirely random, with all prizes obtainable in the selection?"
"Well, yes, it's technically random. But here's what you don't understand, Gust," the voice in the crystal ball replied, sounding slightly guilty before immediately regaining its confidence. "Every lottery is rigged from the start—isn't that common sense?"
"If those brats got the most tempting prizes at the start, who would participate in the actual Spring Cup?"
"You have to admit, my method is pretty effective, isn't it?"
Gust silently nodded, somewhat speechless.
Truthfully, the massive advertising campaigns conducted in previous years hadn't necessarily been as effective as Headmaster Sorgana's playful mischief.
Now he understood the source of recent bizarre campus rumors…
"So, the so-called ultimate prize rumored to be hidden here is also fake, right?"
"Obviously," the crystal ball proudly confirmed. "That card is indeed in the pool, but the chance of drawing it is basically zero."
"By the way, I'm not being unfair—this is for the students' own good! Teehee!"
"For the students' good?"
Gust couldn't follow Sorgana's logic anymore. How had secretly rigging the trials suddenly become an act of kindness?
"That's because the 'ultimate prize' isn't a reward at all, but an extremely powerful monster," the Headmaster replied mischievously. Gust could almost picture her covering her mouth, suppressing laughter.
"It's a Tier 4 magical beast that normally guards the final treasure room of the Spring Cup. Whoever defeats it earns my special Headmaster's Award—the real ultimate prize~!"
"Unfortunately, the only way students can defeat it is with special magical tools found during the Cup. Encountering it unprepared in the selection round—teehee~—means you're just plain unlucky."
"Imagine confidently joining the Spring Cup, only to meet the final boss during the selection round and being instantly eliminated. Isn't that an amazing ultimate prize?"
As Headmaster Sorgana laughed evilly, Gust didn't humor her by playing along or mocking her. Instead, he stared solemnly at the water mirror.
"Headmaster, is that beast perhaps a mutated Mana Spirit, around Tier 4 beginner-level, with rampant mana circuits causing numerous abnormal limbs and partial elementalization, probably wood-elemental?"
"As expected of you, Gust—wait, how the hell do you know that? I never told you, did I?"
"Because someone just drew your 'ultimate prize'."
Gust sighed helplessly, pointing at the water mirror.
In the registration hall, every Arcana screen displaying queue numbers suddenly flashed bright red exclamation marks as Linen's information was entered. A massive image of a Tier 4 Mana Spirit appeared, its description projecting intense pressure.
"What's going on? Who's taking this trial?"
"Why does his trial have special effects?"
"Those effects… Isn't that the announcement for unlocking the Spring Cup final boss in past years? You're joking—someone encountered the final boss in the selection round?"
Mana Spirits were magical beasts mutated due to chaotic internal mana networks. They lacked rational thought, yet instinctively unleashed Arcana through their mana circuits. Elementalization granted them extreme speed, power, and partial immunity to Arcana attacks, making them among the worst possible foes for Arcana Mages of the same rank.
Typically, there were two ways to defeat Mana Spirits: overwhelming physical attacks or further destabilizing their chaotic mana circuits until they self-destructed.
Students who'd already passed sighed in relief, grateful they hadn't encountered this unprepared. Right now, only one unlucky student needed to reveal the threat, allowing everyone else to prepare.
But who was this unlucky soul?
Slowly, the unfortunate student's name appeared on the screens:
[Linen Norton]
Instant chaos erupted in the hall. In the observation room, the previously amused voice from the crystal ball could no longer laugh:
"Someone actually drew it! Wait—his last name's Norton?! Don't tell me that's the young prince! How could this happen?"
Sorgana's voice finally grew panicked. A chair could be heard toppling over through the crystal ball.
"Tivira wanted him to win, and now he won't even pass the selection round because of me... She wouldn't actually be angry, right?"
"With your relationship, Her Majesty might just charge you with lèse-majesté," Gust replied evenly.
"Forget about that—what about Linen's safety?"
"Who cares! Any sane person would give up instantly!"
"Argh! I can't think anymore. As long as my apology is quick enough, Tivira won't blame me!"
Headmaster Sorgana felt numb. Even after carefully adjusting the odds, someone still managed to draw the guaranteed elimination card—and it just had to be Linen!
Just as she began considering whether she'd apologize by rubbing her face against the Empress's silk-stockinged legs or by letting her step on her head in high heels, the enormous red exclamation mark suddenly switched to a glowing red checkmark.
The observation room fell into absolute silence.
"Gust…did you secretly change the indicators while I was away? Did you reverse the signs for accepting and forfeiting the challenge?"
"I did not, Headmaster," Gust replied, his face reflecting the vivid red glow from the mirror.
"If you haven't modified the settings yourself, then that means…"
"He genuinely accepted the challenge."
"Is he insane? What is he thinking—risking his life just to spite his mother? Stop the trial immediately!"
Sorgana was losing her mind. She'd never met a prince so recklessly headstrong.
But just then, Gust quietly murmured:
"Perhaps…he has more than mere spite in mind."
"What do you mean?"
This time, it was Sorgana who didn't understand Gust's words.
"You probably don't know yet, Headmaster," Gust suddenly sighed. "Because of Her Majesty's orders, the Shadow Knights have withdrawn their special protection of the academy."
"What?! Has that woman gone insane?!" Sorgana exclaimed in shock. Countless enemies of the empire were watching Eden Academy, the empire's most prolific producer of Arcana Mages. She never thought the Empress would give such an order.
"Unfortunately, it's true. But as far as I know, Linen made a wager with Her Majesty."
"If he wins the Spring Cup, the empire will restore its protection of the academy," Gust said, each word measured carefully.
...
Meanwhile, at the registration hall, the students were full of question marks upon seeing Linen accept the trial.
"Is this freshman searching for death? Challenging a Tier 4 Mana Spirit—is he insane?"
"You're not allowed to say that about Prince Linen! He…he must have his reasons!"
Over where the two heroines stood, Elena looked deeply worried, while Hysteria burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching her stomach, unable to straighten up.
"Hahaha! Who knew the ultimate unlucky fool would turn out to be that jerk! This is going to be hilarious!"
Yet to everyone's surprise, Elena—who rarely showed displeasure—furrowed her brows and looked genuinely angry at Hysteria's laughter.
"Hysteria, how can you laugh at a time like this?"
"Don't be mad, Elena." Hysteria immediately felt guilty, though she didn't understand why she shouldn't laugh.
"Have you forgotten already?" Elena struggled to keep her voice steady, but there was clear reproach in it. "Linen took your place because you complained about getting a troublesome combat trial, didn't he?"
"He's facing the trial meant for you now—how can you still laugh?"
Elena forcibly swallowed back the words, Are you heartless, or just brainless?
Actually, she no longer needed to say anything.
Because the moment her friend pointed it out, an overwhelming wave of guilt crashed over Hysteria.
"He… He switched trials…to help me?"
Hysteria stared in disbelief at Linen's back as he followed the instructor into the trial chamber.
Inside the carriage, the owner of those azure eyes showed a fleeting expression of surprise before returning to calm.
"So, he really accepted…"
"But if it's Linen, perhaps he truly does have a plan."
Yet despite her reassuring words, the girl's delicate white fingers tightly clenched the carriage curtain.
"Student, this is your last chance. You can still withdraw."
...
Inside the trial chamber, the supervising instructor turned toward Linen, his expression grave.
Mana Spirits were notoriously resistant to Arcana. While he could guarantee Linen's survival, he wasn't confident he could prevent injuries completely.
"Don't worry, instructor. If it were any other monster, I might give up. But luckily, I have a friend who absolutely hates this kind of creature. Thanks to her, I know exactly how to deal with Mana Spirits. And since I've come this far, giving up isn't an option, right?"
Linen smiled as confidently as ever.
"Oh? If you insist." Hearing Linen speak so assuredly, the instructor became curious. Mana Spirits were among the worst creatures for Arcana Mages to face alone, yet Linen seemed genuinely confident. Perhaps he really did have some special trick?
If Linen's method worked, perhaps it could even be taught to other students.
Thinking this, the instructor removed the seals and unleashed the Mana Spirit, quickly sealing the trial chamber shut.
In an instant, wild and overwhelming mana flooded the entire room.
The chaotic energy stretched out uncontrollably like insect antennae, instantly locking onto the only living presence in the chamber—Linen.
Here it comes!
The moment the thought arose in the instructor's mind, a massive shadow suddenly leapt from the gate, roaring as it plummeted from above toward Linen.
How will he respond? Even the instructor felt tense.
Would he dodge?
Raise a barrier?
Counter with Arcana?
All the standard tactics used by Arcana Mages flashed through the instructor's mind.
But Linen chose none of them.
Just as the Mana Spirit was about to reach him, Linen calmly reached into his coat, smoothly pulled out an exquisitely crafted pistol, aimed it at the massive, meteor-like figure descending from above, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Instructor: ???